Stogieman

Hi Scott, this bar has been around a bit. It's real, but the price is a little high for what it is, IMO. Not withstanding... you'll be hard-pressed to find a bar of this era in such outstanding condition. If you love it... well, there's only one thing to do.

But the Bulgarian pieces were all made in Bulgaria. So far nothing has surfaced made in Russia?

I like that little display in the background as well... Of course the bottle is pretty special as well! I could use one right now myself!

Well, we've certainly had our share of excitement over the last few weeks. I think the important thing to remember is to pause and think before we make any attempt to alter a piece. Whether it is to fix, restore, remove, etc. The actions we take are sometimes irreversible..... and that we may do more damage than good.

Unless of course it's from this seller ozelly who seems to have a couple of..... shall we say "interesting" offerings today!

Bigger photos are not going to change the fact that for all of the reasons stated above; as well as all of the casting flaws, pock marks, etc. now visible..... the piece is a copy. Perhaps you should contact your original seller and discuss this with him.

Hi Kev... sometimes, if you know what you're doing... a fantasy bar can be bought for less than the value od the parts. In this case, the bar is probably real... but even if it wasn't; you couldn't buy those two orders for much less than the 1400- for the bar. The Silver Merit Cross to The Princely Hohenzollern House Order has appeared on the market less than a half-dozen times in the past 10 years. Same with the Silver Merit Cross to The Bavarian Order of Saint Michael.... we're talking about pieces that appear so infrequently it's impossible to put a market-value on them.

Wasn't a very similar bar in Eric Ludwigson's collection?

Here's the original thread from when Stijn owned the bar. http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=15119&hl=

Saschaw, what are you talking about? Not the White Falcon Bar???????????

Most German Orders use a resin in the center to hold everything together. It dries out, shrinks a bit and you get the nasty lump shown by Ed.

Lucky Dog! I was wondering who snatched that one.... It's a great bar!

Maybe something NCO'ish? I here there's a possibility that the Lubek Rolls might be done soon... that means there's apossibility of ID'ing this fellow someday...

The reverse:

Here's a medal bar with the actual medal

Jubilee Medal, probably 1905.

Yep, The Medal to The Order. Simple, tiny blue case instead of black. No cypher on the lid.... almost like old Willy was embarrassed by this one?

Only one grade of this order broke with these "standards".... and that's this little gem in here:

And, just for giggles... here's a packing case that would have held everything when it left the jeweler:

One of the interesting thing about this Order is no matter what grade... the cyphered lid of the case was the only marking. Note the pre-1900 "C"-Clasp closure on the last image.

And just for the heck of it... here's The Second Class Star, with Swords.

Here's a gold one, unmarked, probably Wagner. I had many variations of this long-ago. Even had a cased 2.Kl. star!!

Friedlander is a bit obscure for a maker... very nice. Usually these show up by Wagner. Nice Cross, even with the repair. Here's a Wagner in Silver-Gilt

The Hohenzollern Silver Cross of Merit paired with the Bavarian St. Michael Merit Cross.... ?? I think 1400- Euro was a pretty good deal myself......

Perhaps he has simply gilded his bronze medal and "promoted" himself? Per materials and construction. I'd say spot-on perfect, period bar even without the benefit of the photograph. Congratulations.